Opinion

Checking off the boxes

When most employers search for people to fill key positions that are pivotal to their company’s success, it is always in their best interests to choose the applicant that is best qualified and best suited for the task at hand. Ensuring relevant criteria is met; there must be some form of prioritized checklist. Only after asking the right questions and checking off the boxes will you really have an accurate measure of who meets the criteria you feel is important.

A commercial airline pilot’s due diligence includes checking off the boxes on a preflight checklist; this also puts an emphasis on how important it can be to have a prioritized checklist. The purpose of a pilot’s preflight check is obviously for safety reasons and preventative due diligence. Now imagine if that pilot decided to ignore one or more of those boxes, the implications could be catastrophic. Choosing an applicant to be the next Premier of Alberta deserves that same attention to detail.

The United Conservative Party members are, in the minds of a majority of Albertans, in the midst of determining who will be the next Premier of Alberta. The decision that determines which candidate will fill that role should also be subject to a similar checklist because the implications have the potential to be just as catastrophic as an improperly done preflight checklist.

The trail of wreckage that will be left behind by the NDP’s ideological excursion will need all the skill and ability available to concerned Albertans. The ability to create true grassroots policies and legislation to correct the course of the province is essential. The balance between knowing when to take control and when to take direction from Albertans is a quality taxpayers haven’t seen for quite some time in this province.

Checking off the prioritized boxes is something UCP members will need to consider when deciding who will be at the controls when Alberta is about to take flight to bluer skies. The abilities of that candidate will act as a stabilizing influence to steer Alberta clear of the storm clouds in the future.

There will be much to repair after Alberta returns to a stable, competent, conservative government such as the Carbon tax and Bill 6 that have adversely affected Albertans. Further repairs will be needed to correct the NDP government’s changes to the education system that are usurping the authority of parents and will indoctrinate the NDP ideology into the classroom. The next Premier of Alberta will also have the monumental task of taking a firm stance with the federal government and making sure our voices are heard.

The necessary changes can only be accomplished with a leader who exhibits strong conservative principles and who has shown the consistent ability to make things happen in government. The UCP have been blessed to have quality candidates to choose from. Now it’s up to Albertans to make sure the boxes get checked off and the best choice is made.

Rick Strankman, MLA, Drumheller Stettler,. member of the Official Wildrose Opposition